Vermont apple growers are not typically faint of heart. Each year, they self-confidently face freezes, droughts, heat, hail and pests - and that’s before the challenges of the fall harvest even begin. The wave of warm weather early this spring launched Vermont’s crop unusually early. By early May, Vermont orchards were in full bloom as freezing temperatures were forecasted.
The early bloom has resulted in Vermont’s apple crop coming in about ten days earlier than usual. Resulting damage from the freeze was lighter than anticipated, and most growers are anticipating yields close to 2009 levels. Paula Red and some of the other early apples are ready for picking. McIntosh, the state’s leading variety, should be ready to pick by early September.
Steve Justis, Executive Director of the Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association, the state’s apple growers’ organization, reports that orchardists across the state are optimistic about the new crop. “Most growers are looking at close to full production,” said Justis. “A few orchards located away from major bodies of water, like lakes and rivers, were hit pretty hard by the May freeze. But their crops have responded well to the growing conditions through the summer so they’re looking at good crops. Overall, we’re expecting to harvest over 800,000 bushels--- within fifteen percent of last year’s production.”
Nationally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s preliminary forecast is for the 2010 crop to be down about four percent compared with last year. Regionally, the northeast apple crop could be down by ten to twelve percent, based on the USDA forecast, Justis said. With national inventories down from last year, prices are holding relatively stable, which will benefit Vermont’s apple growers.
While Roger Allbee, Vermont’s Secretary of Agriculture, has been watching the crop’s progress since the early May freeze, his biggest concern now is for the apple harvest workforce. “The H-2A program permits U.S. employers to bring temporary foreign workers into the country to perform seasonal agricultural work”, said Allbee. “Our apple growers have been using the program for nearly 30 years. Since 9-11, the H-2A program has become more difficult and expensive to navigate. We’ve called on our congressional delegation for help and they’ve responded very positively.”
Vermont’s apple harvest has begun and picking should continue through October. Pick-your-own orchards and orchards having ready-picked apples can be found at www.vermontapples.org.
Vermont apple grower Scott Douglas, owner of Douglas Orchards in Shoreham, inspects this his Paula Red apples, now ready to pick.
One of Vermont’s earliest varieties, Paula Red, is ready to pick.